Fans of real Christmas trees are being warned their festive firs could be harboring hundreds of insect eggs.
Families are being urged to look out for small brown lumps, that may appear to be pine cones, but are in fact harbouring baby creepy-crawlies.
Although rare in the UK, one American woman found her home swarming with beasties after eggs hatched in her Christmas tree.
The hard walnut-sized lumps are usually found on the end of the branch and look similar to mini pine cones, the Mirror reports.
And, if you leave the tree inside your nice warm house - the ideal environment for the eggs to hatch, you could find yourself in the company of hundreds of baby praying mantises.
Molly Kreuze, from Springfield, Virginia in the US, found the insects crawling up the walls and ceilings, and in her bathroom and bedroom, after the eggs hatched inside her home.
And Molly said removing them from her house was not an easy task, and she tried to get rid of them by feeding them fruit flies and catching them with a box and an envelope.
"They’re fast. They jump,” she said.
It is possible for the bugs to make their homes in Norway Spruces, Scots Pines or Fraser Fir trees.
